The Art of Espionage
by LifeIsGame
Summary: Mortal AU. The one where Percy is trying to discreetly spy on his new next door neighbor- but it isn't exactly working out.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! I probably shouldn't be starting another story, but this idea got stuck in my head and wouldn't leave. This is going to be a relatively short story, with shorter chapters, but faster updates. Please review! In case you didn't know, I am a review addict. More reviews = happy author = more updates. I hope this isn't too bad. Most of my inspiration came to me at 2 in the morning, so… **

**Disclaimer: Oh, I totally own Percy Jackson! A thousand lawyers come to sue me. *cast a scared look at them* Just kidding, Rick Riordan owns everything! The only thing I own is the plot of this story. Without further ado, I present to you, The Art of Espionage!**

_Chapter One: Who Are You? Jackson. Percy Jackson._

_Mission: #1 Age: 16 Location: House in Orlando Suburbs_

Annabeth was in rebellion. She had decided on the long car ride there stuck between Bobby and Matthew that she wouldn't come out of her room once they arrived at their new home. She wouldn't see any landmarks, wouldn't go to any tourist traps, wouldn't even go to the park. (As much as she may or may not want to) That's why she, while the rest of her family was off gallivanting around their neighborhood, stayed behind.

Annabeth knew it was completely illogical, but part of her blamed Helen, her stepmother, for the move. What caused the move was Annabeth's dad's promotion, and Helen wasn't even that bad. Sure, she was kind of awkward around Annabeth, but she had never treated her badly or tried to take the place of Annabeth's mother.

She also knew that her rebellion was also illogical. It _was_ best for the family that they move here. Maybe not for Annabeth, but for everyone overall, it was. Annabeth wasn't even rebelling on the move, she was rebelling on not having a say in it. Had it not been Annabeth who had been in the family, with her father the longest? In a country that prided itself on a democracy, Annabeth had expected at least a discussion about it before deciding.

She was also rebelling because- she could barely admit this to herself, and only did because it was smart to know your weaknesses- she missed her friends. Virginia was, simply put, boring, so Annabeth was almost glad to leave that all behind. But her friends, which had taken her years to make and would take years to replace, were anything but. She missed her best friend Thalia, the self-proclaimed cutest couple of the school: Silena and Beckendorf, Clarisse, and her half-brother Malcolm, they shared the same mother. (So maybe they moved to Florida for more reasons than just the job promotion) Annabeth had considered staying with her mother, but in the end, was too disgusted by Athena to even consider staying in the same room as her mother.

Her mother. Just the thought of her made Annabeth feel sick. She now called her mother Athena, which she had since last summer. Last summer, her mother's 15 year affair with another man had been revealed, bringing Malcolm into the picture. Last summer, Annabeth watched as her mother packed her bags and left their loft for good. Last summer, she had seen her father fall in love again. Last summer, Annabeth had watched her world fall apart. (She had only talked to Athena once since last summer, and that was only because she was there when Annabeth had said goodbye to Malcolm)

Remembering the past had got her angry, ready to break something. Working off the pent up energy, she began to organize her new room. That was a plus side to the whole ordeal. No more owl pattern in her room, reminding her of Athena. A thump sounded from her backyard. Thinking that another animal had gotten stuck in their fence, she rolled up her window shade. Annabeth caught a glimpse of something black near the edge of her house.

Panicky thoughts began to run around in her head. Were the Orlando suburbs a place with common break-ins? Could the object in black just have been an animal or was it something more serious? Of course, the one day her family leaves is the day a possible house thief is in the area. She decided to look out her window again, scan the area. Annabeth pressed her face to the glass and saw…

An awkwardly somersaulting teenager in black? She peered through the window, wondering what the heck he was doing as he edged against the wall, heading to the front of the house. This was the most interesting thing to happen all day. Annabeth decided to follow him.

Once Annabeth had looked through the front window, she started to figure out what this guy was doing. He seemed to be trying to see who was in her house. _Oh god_. That explained his very odd movements, he was spying.

Not very subtly, of course. He was doing an odd combination of ninja and James Bond-like movements all around the yard. Adding to that, he was wearing all black, in the middle of the day. Overall, it was very entertaining. Annabeth smiled. She headed to the couch, and sat down. _This was going to be great to watch_.

After watching the guy for about an hour, Annabeth had come up with some conclusions. 1.) He had a friend hiding in the bushes, sending him 'intel' about something. (She had heard his friend's yelling to attest to that fact) 2.) He lived next door. 3.) She knew that because she saw him enter the house next to hers and soon emerge with two cookies, one for him and the other for his friend. (Which is how she learned about Conclusion #1 in the first place)

As the guy's actions steadily became more and more ridiculous, Annabeth decided to take pity on him and just come out. Plus, she was getting tired of referring to him as "the guy" in her head. But she wasn't an evil genius (according to Thalia) for nothing. Annabeth was going to have some fun with him first.

Sneaking out of the house discreetly (the guy could take some lessons from her), she beelined for the bush his friend with the walkie talkie was hiding in. Approaching him, she could hear his stutters and apologies. Annabeth crouched down, silencing him with a hissed," Shut up."

Annabeth soon learned that The Guy's Friend's name was Grover, and he was only doing this because The Guy, his best friend, had bribed him into it.

"It's fine," she replied. "I think it's hilarious." It really was. "I just have two questions for you Grover. What's your friend's name and could I have your walkie?"

Grover looked surprised. "Uh, his name is Percy. And why do you need my walkie talkie?"

"I don't really need it. I just need you to not alert him while I sneak up on him. Can you do that?"

"I can," Grover whispered, staring at Percy as he did an army crawl up to the porch. "But I think I could alert him and it wouldn't make any difference." It was probably true.

She decided to wait for Percy in the back, as he'd been making rotations around her house. Sure enough, after lying in wait for who knows how long, Percy ninja kicked around the corner. He tried to peer into the kitchen windows, but was stopped by a tap on his shoulder.

He stiffened, turning around, ready to attack. Annabeth smiled from her spot on top of the porch. She was so glad her backyard had long sticks. Then, as Percy cautiously stepped under the porch, she called," Percy!"

Percy jumped. Annabeth could tell this because she heard the resounding ow that came from hitting your head on the low roof. (And he was rather tall) Annabeth, now cracking up, swung down from on top of the roof, her first words to him, "You know, _good _spies shouldn't let enemy agents sneak up on them."

Percy's expression was so cartoonish, it was unreal. "Uh, you see, I was ju-"

She cut him off. "Just captured by the enemy. You better run."

Percy smiled," Before I run, what's your name? Mine's Percy, but I guess Grover already told you."

Annabeth was taken back. How had he known? Percy added quickly. "I know Grover would never not have my back, so he would have told me about a dangerous spy- there his mouth quirked- unless he was in on it."

That made a lot of sense. But Annabeth couldn't show that he had caught her off guard with his knowledge. She bluffed, "You might be a good spy, but a great spy will never give her name." She was back in the game.

And so the three of them spent the rest of the afternoon acting like morons, playing spy. But it was the most fun she'd had since the move, she thought, as she chased after Grover. She should have known right there that Percy Jackson was different. A different bad or good could not be told yet. But he was the reason she was breaking her rebellion, by being outside. And Annabeth Chase was nothing if not stubborn.

**Hope you guys liked this! Please review, I'll take anything: feedback, constructive criticism, suggestions. All of these will help me make this story better. Thanks for reading! Oh, and I'd just like to add: I don't own the cover image, Viria made it. (I could never be that good of an artist)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Happy Valentine's Day! In honor of the day, I have decided to post this update early. Thanks to everyone who read my story! This chapter is dedicated to Blackberry Explosion, my first reviewer! (You made my day ****) Thank you Elia19, Mystery Angle, RICEwong, and morbid bookworm for following my story! Thank you Sora Loves Rain, Blackberry Explosion, and morbid bookworm for favoriting my story! *thunderous applause* Seriously, thank you. I jumped around my room freaking out over the feedback. It was kind of sad…**

**Once again, Rick Riordan owns everything! I only own the plot!**

_The Art of Espionage_

_Chapter 2: There's a First (or Second) Time for Everything_

_Mission: #2 Age: 17 Location: Same Orlando Suburbs House_

Annabeth was once again not leaving her room. This time, it was not in rebellion, it was because of nerves. She had a date that night. Now before anyone reading this assumes that she's a romantic, stop along that thought track right now. She would sooner punch somebody than watch a chick-flick and there was actual proof. (Sorry Silena.)

But this was her first date, and her date was her first crush. Unless you count her little crush on Harry Potter from when she was nine, but who could really blame her there? Annabeth nervously checked her outfit again. She was hopeless, she didn't even know what to wear. Seriously, who would have thought that watching a movie at her house would be so complicated?

Her date was Luke Castellan. He had gone to her elementary school was back in Virginia, and it was pretty awesome to have someone to hang out with who knew her before the move. He had even been handsome back then, but now… Let's just say that she was lucky.

It's not that she didn't like her new friends, they were awesome. Frankly, Annabeth was surprised that she had made so many. It was all really thanks to Percy, her next door neighbor, who was one of the most well liked kids in the high school. He and Grover had introduced her to so many people who were some of the greatest friends someone like her could have: Grover's girlfriend Juniper, twins Travis and Conner Stoll, environmentalist Katie Gardener, Percy's brother Tyson, and his cousins Nico and Bianca. Plus, there was then Lee, Will, Jake, Ella, Zoe. They really needed more girls in their group.

That led to the fact that Luke wasn't in their group. She didn't know why. He had always been very nice, and whenever she asked about it, she got a mumbled response about 'a falling out' between Luke and Percy. And it was the one thing that her best friend, Percy, wouldn't tell her. So maybe she was also doing this to get back at Percy for not telling her. And maybe also because he kept hanging around that Calypso girl, the one who thought she was _so_ cool, since she didn't bother to shorten her weird name.

But those reasons were just upsides to going on a date with Luke. And it's not like Annabeth, who was too wrapped up in being a teenager, even realized all the reasons for her actions at that time. Checking her outfit one more time, Annabeth headed downstairs.

_I might care about how I look_, Annabeth thought. _But at least I'm not wearing makeup_. That was always something she prided herself on.

The doorbell rang. She raced to beat Matthew and Bobby to the door. She could not deal with them telling Luke every embarrassing thing about her as soon as he opened the door, which is what they would do if they got there first. She didn't have to worry about her dad or Helen, though. Her dad, when hearing about the date, had vaguely said," Good for you, dear," then went back to his study. Helen had been more excited about it, but had promised not to do anything to compromise the date. Annabeth and she had been making progress.

Luckily for Annabeth, she reached the door first. She pulled it open, and trying not to grin like an idiot, welcomed Luke in.

"Hey Annabeth," Luke said, looking around awkwardly. "So, what do you wanna do?"

Luke had decided on deciding to let Annabeth decide what they would do on their first date. He would get to pick what they would do on the second. *_wink_* Normally, that kind of over confident statement would have gotten Annabeth's blood boiling but- it was Luke. When he was over confident, it looked hot. So she had picked something that she had thought would be unscrewupable. (And yes, that was a word).

"I was thinking that we should watch a movie up in my room," she said, slightly worried that Luke, a year older, a lot cooler, would think it was stupid.

"Sounds good to me, Annie," he said as she winced at the nickname.

They headed down the hall to her room and pulled up Netflix on her computer. After a debate on what to watch, they chose _Catching Fire. _You can't go wrong with a movie everyone's seen.

While watching the movie, Annabeth found herself relaxing. She and Luke were having conversation, they were holding hands, and no one (her family) had done anything that would make her want to crawl into a hole and never come out. In a shorter version, Annabeth thought the date was going great.

After the movie ended, Annabeth could have sworn she had heard a noise coming from outside, but brushed it off. "That was a really cool movie, don't you think?" she asked Luke.

Luke had a strange expression on his face. "Yeah, it was beautiful." A pause. "Just like you." Annabeth's heart sped up. She could feel it coming, and she wanted it.

"Yeah?" she asked, trying to sound modest.

"Yes," Luke nodded. And with that he slowly leaned forward, with Annabeth's heart hammering. His lips touched hers. They were slightly chapped, and she could taste the Coke he had earlier. She started to lean forward and was just about to-

BANG! Both Annabeth and Luke jumped up, looking for the sound. And they found it, in the form of Percy Jackson's face smushed against Annabeth's window. She felt her face slowly turn bright red.

Luke, looking repulsed at the sight of Percy, spoke up. "You know, I didn't realize you were, uh- involved with each other. Uh, I'll just let you guys work out whatever's going on between you." With that, Luke left.

Annabeth was livid. "What the hell is _wrong _with you, Percy? You seriously had to _spy_ on me during my date! And of course, you had to INTERRUPT MY KISS! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

Without Annabeth's notice, her deadly whisper had turned into a shout. Percy, instead of looking scared like everyone else on the end of that voice did, looked defiant.

"It wasn't my fault!" he protested. "Travis and Conner were helping me and then they shoved me into your window!" Annabeth looked and true enough, saw the two idiots running for their lives down the streets.

"Cowards," she muttered. She turned back to Percy. "But that still doesn't explain why you were SPYING ON ME!"

Percy had a perfectly logical reason for that, at least to him. "I was just trying to see how your date was going. Best friends tell each other about that stuff, right? Well, normally, best friends would text each other during the date to learn about how it was, but since I don't have a phone, I can't exactly do that, can I?"

It was true. He and his mom didn't have that much money. In fact, the next door house belonged to a witchy (make it start with b for a better description) old woman named Hera who spent most of her days complaining about her cheating ex-husband. Sally was just the live-in maid, and had managed to convince Hera to let Percy stay as well.

It made sense. But Annabeth wasn't in the mood for logic. Her brain at the moment was too busy being angry. "Oh, can it Percy," she snapped. Wasn't her best comeback, but certainly better than others. "Go hang out with Calypso, or whatever you two do alone."

With that, Annabeth slammed the window shut. She spent the rest of the night wondering if she could somehow get a second date. Percy spent the rest of the night apologizing to her window. Deep down though, she was touched that Percy Jackson would go to such ridiculous lengths for her.

For the next few weeks, Percy tried to make it up to Annabeth, while she kept a frosty silence, leaving their friends wondering what happened. Eventually, they made up, as all best friends do.

Luke and Annabeth, meanwhile, never had a second date. But unknowingly, Percy had saved Annabeth from disaster, as Luke at the time, also had a two year girlfriend named Kelli.

That day was a day for firsts. First crush, first date, first kiss, and first (real) fight. The spying wasn't a first, and it definitely wasn't a last. But Annabeth should have known Percy Jackson was different; he was the first guy she couldn't stay mad at. And Annabeth Chase prided herself on her grudge holding capabilities.

**I don't know, that chapter felt a little choppy. I have a couple of things to say about it though. 1. Annabeth probably seemed a little OOC in this. I had no intention of doing that, I really just wanted to show how she was self-conscious around Luke, versing how she was comfortable around Percy. 2. I'm sorry for the slight Luke hate in this! I love Luke in reality, but in the series he affected Annabeth a lot, and so in the story, he's also going to affect her, though probably not as much. Anyways, thanks for reading! And please review! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! I don't mean to be rude, but this story has 321 views (woo-hoo) and only 2 reviews. Please give me some feedback so I can make my story better! (Plus it really helps me with encouragement)**

**Okay, now that I've gotten that out of the way: Thank you for reading this, even if you didn't review! This chapter is dedicated to KingHenry, whose review was hilarious. Thank you alyaJackson and for favoriting this story. Thank you amanda312chen, thestoryreader99, Puppylove77, alyaJackson, and TwisT2718 for following this story!**

**Disclaimer: Big shocker, I still don't own Percy Jackson *sob***

_Chapter Three: That's What She Said (Or Read)_

_Mission: #3 Age: 18 Location: Orlando Suburbs Home_

This time, Annabeth wasn't leaving her mailbox. If she did the math right (she did), her letter telling her if she got accepted into her dream college, Stanford University, would arrive. Percy was with her in her vigil, he claimed it was because he had nothing better to do. But she knew it was for her.

"If you don't get accepted into Stanford, you should totally take a gap year with me," Percy said randomly as they waited on her driveway.

"Oh yeah," Annabeth laughed. "While I'm at it, I'll join Travis and Conner's crime ring and dye my hair blue."

Annabeth couldn't imagine how Percy was taking the future so lightly. It was- it was the _future. _The way her entire life went depended on college, and she needed to go to college right away, so she could graduate quickly, get a good job, and start paying off the debt from college.

"See? It wouldn't be so bad," Percy was laughing too. "But if you do get into Stanford, it means I'll get a great reason to visit California. I've always wanted to go there."

"What would you do there, Perce? Ride some _sick waves_?" she asked, using the surfing terms Percy had tried to unsuccessfully teach her.

"More like some sick babes," Percy said with a big grin on his face, just waiting for Annabeth's response. He sure got one.

"Stop being such a perv!" she said, smacking him.

As Percy laughed and tried to defend himself, he said," No, seriously. I'd totally go to college and get a degree in surfing."

Annabeth laughed again. Percy was great for calming her down when she would normally be panicking. It was one of the things she liked most about him. That, and hanging out with him was just so simple.

And god knows how much they all needed that simplicity. Everything had grown so complicated over the past year. The whole group was facing goodbye, which is something that Annabeth felt that people didn't realize about senior year. That sense of finality, of leaving your childhood behind and entering the 'survival of the fittest' adult world out there. That's what made her treasure moments like these so much more.

The quiet tranquil of the pair just sitting together, each wrapped up in their own thoughts, was abruptly ruined by the screech of the mail truck pulling up. Connor Stoll, who had decided on following his dad's footsteps, had already gotten a start by driving the truck, grinned out at them. Travis, his twin, was moving to Michigan after they graduated, something about travel. The duo that everyone thought would always be together was splitting up. Everyone was.

"Sup with y'all?" he asked, speaking in the most exaggerated Southern accent she had ever heard.

Percy had noticed it also. "Why the hell are you talking like that, Connor?"

"Y'all say, all dem 'ancy movies show dis here mail delivr'r wit a Southern accent," he drawled.

"What did you say?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah, I grew up in Florida, and even I can't tell what you're saying."

Connor rolled his eyes, but thankfully returned to his normal voice. "I said that all the movies show the mail deliverer with a comical country accent, so I tried it." Connor went on. "So what's up with you love birds?"

Percy's cheeks turned red, and Annabeth could feel hers warming as well. "We're not lovebirds!"

For good measure, she added to his statement, "Yeah, the only lovebirds around here are Mrs. and Mr. Dodds." Annabeth could see the panic in his eyes as he cast a look around for their old math teacher. (Even the principal of the high school had celebrated when she had retired)

"Now, I really have to get moving, so… here!" He sped away, almost hitting Hestia as she walked down the street.

Connor had thrown all of their mail together, and then dumped it on the ground. Annabeth cursed him under her breath while Percy just laughed. They crouched down to the ground and began gathering up all of the fallen mail.

Percy grabbed an envelope off the ground. "Ooh, look, Hera is getting into… "Percy trailed off as he scanned the letter. "She's getting into aerobics, gross! Imagine me walking in on her bending over!" God, now Annabeth couldn't get that image out of her head now.

"Eew! Thanks a lot, Jackson! I need to go bleach my brain or something!"

While the two discussed the prospect of Hera doing aerobics, they started splitting the mail into groups: one for the Chase's house, one for Hera, and one for Sally and Percy. Annabeth distractedly said, "Hey, if you see a letter from Stanford-"

Percy cut her off. "Like this one?" he asked, waving it in front of her face. Annabeth responded by promptly grabbing the letter from his hand and smacking his head with it.

"Hey!" he shouted indignantly. Annabeth smirked, and told him that his hair didn't even deserve to touch a letter from Stanford University. Sure, that was a little below the belt, but at the moment, Annabeth was too filled with anticipation to care. Luckily, he brushed it off.

"So, what does it say?" Percy asked excitedly, dropping the letters he was holding to stand and follow Annabeth's distracted walk to her porch.

"I told you before, I'm telling everyone tomorrow. Everyone includes you," she reminded him.

"Come on, Annie! I know you, you can't keep that news in for the whole night!" he called as she walked away. He knew her too well. She fully intended to call Thalia about whatever the response was right after she opened the letter. But she wanted to wait to tell the group. Telling her friends would make the implied goodbye so much more real.

Annabeth decided to give Percy some credit. "You're right. I'm not going to keep it in all night. I'll be telling my family tonight."

She headed up to her porch and closed the door, ready to tear open the letter. Unbeknownst to her, outside Percy had that grin on his face that always told her he was about to do something stupid. She really shouldn't have told him about her announcement.

She was high on euphoria. No, scratch that, she was on Cloud Nine. No… she needed something _bigger_ to describe what she'd been feeling since she read the letter. It was almost like if you take someone who just had the biggest thrill of their life combined with finding out a loved one was not going to die like the doctors all said. That might have gotten close to how Annabeth was feeling right now.

In fact, she was so in the clouds that as she headed to the kitchen, she failed to notice a few now recognizable sounds coming from outside her house. Instead, Annabeth had walked right on by the window that she had first seen 'the spy', not sensing that something was off. (She really should have noticed the ladder)

At the moment, all she could think of was the words eight years. Eight years of her life validated with three simple typed words. Eight years of her life coming to a climax at this point. Eight years that were finally paying off. Every time she said she would study, and didn't go to a party. Every time she would pull all-nighters for something in school. Every time she would come home injured after fencing. It was all worth it. It was all worth it!

Annabeth wanted to scream it. Scream it to anyone who ever told her she couldn't do it, to those who judged her for "not getting out enough," to people who eyed each other doubtfully when she said that she wanted to get accepted into Stanford. Wave the letter in their faces and see if they'd still doubt her. Show them the three words she could barely wrap her head around and childishly stick her tongue out at them. (And maybe get Percy to help rub her victory in their faces)

She cheerfully strolled in to help with dinner. However, Helen quickly shooed her out, telling her that this was her night, and to go have fun until food was on the table.

"After all," Helen called. "Now you'll be able to go hang out with friends now that the crazy workload is over!" Helen was one of those adults who thought kids got too _much _homework and should get more free time, instead of the opposite. Her philosophy was that when you're an adult you can go work yourself to the bone, and to have fun while you still can.

Annabeth disagreed. _She _believed that the whole point of childhood was to prepare oneself for adulthood, and if you didn't do work during that time, you would become one of the nobodies living in their family's basement. The face splitting grin had returned to her face again. She guessed that the whole announcement plan was going out the window, as anyone could just look at her and see what the letter had said.

Even though her beliefs contradicted with what Helen had told her to do, she went with it. It was her night after all, and who really wanted to spend it peeling potatoes? Not even Annabeth, the over achiever herself, would. She pulled out her phone, thinking to see if Katie was at her mom's health food store. It would be something to do if she visited there, and Healthy Nut was a cool place to hang out. Mrs. Gardner's business partner Iris added such an alternative vibe, and as an effect of that, was pretty popular. The chances were high that if Katie wasn't there, there would still be someone there who she knew.

Annabeth's phone vibrated. She had gotten a response from Katie. It read: _Of course I'm at the shop. Crazy health freak mother problems. Plz come and help!_

She laughed. Katie hated working at the shop, since there were so many 'freaky, annoying hipsters' there. Katie's words, not hers. Annabeth quickly sent a response back. _Don't worry, I'll come and save you _

She quickly slipped her phone into her pocket, and headed out the door. What made her stop on the porch was the by now, all too familiar humming of the Incredibles theme song. Percy was coming. Annabeth then opened her eyes to what she had been missing. _The ladder_. Her brain quickly made the connections. Percy humming spy music. The ladder. And, tilting her head back, she could see that Percy wasn't coming, he was already there. On top of the roof.

That was his big plan to find out what her letter's contents were? To just wait on the roof, hoping to overhear a conversation? As Annabeth walked to the Healthy Nut, she tried to figure out what exactly the idiot was going to do.

The walk was a short one. Once you left her neighborhood, you entered what was more of the backstreets of Orlando. This part of the city was rather sleepy, with not much going on. All it took after that was turning right at the corner, where a used bookstore was located, along with a Goodwill and the Healthy Nut. Annabeth loved that part of Orlando the most. There were no tourist traps, no insane amount of commercialization, and she could really feel the community here.

Annabeth strolled into the Healthy Nut, looking around for Katie. The shop was kind of a combination of an alternative form of Starbucks, and a pet food store. That's what all the healthy food looked like to her anyway. She ended up sitting in one of the overstuffed chairs by the tofu that Grover and Juniper claimed was the best food in Orlando.

She got a few waves and "Hey, Annabeth"s as she looked around awkwardly. Luckily, Katie emerged from the back room, looking relieved.

"Annabeth!" she called, rushing over to meet her. "Thank god you're here. Some customer was grilling me on the makeup of our protein bars, and I had to hide in the storage room until he left. Seriously, who knows if the dairy in the bars came from cows that were fed grass from Illinois or Missouri?"

That sounded ridiculous. But one thing stood out to Annabeth. "Wait, there's dairy in your protein bars? I don't think that is exactly normal."

Katie rolled her eyes. "It's the Healthy Nut, did you really think anything would be normal here?"

"Good point."

Katie continued. "Besides, we buy the protein bars from some other, bigger healthy food store chain. How I am I supposed to know how they were made?"

Her rant was making Annabeth smile. "It's the rabbit food. It makes those who eat this stuff abandon all logic."

Katie laughed. "Yeah. The hardcore health nuts really are crazy."

The girls were starting to get some glares from some of the costumers. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to talk about crazed health nuts _around _crazed health nuts. Annabeth whispered," Look at the people glaring at us. It's like we insulted their people."

"Because health nuts are a race. I can just imagine it: And here is the race healthius nuttius, hated by many rabbits for eating their food."

"They'd probably be dancing around an _organic _fire, chanting about the glories of cows fed with Missouri grass," Annabeth added to Katie's vision.

At this point, both girls burst into laughter. It was also at this time that Katie's mother told them to please leave.

That sobered Katie up. "But Mom!" she protested. "I'm your daughter!"

"You're also driving the customers away!"

Annabeth and Katie eventually dragged themselves out of the store. "Sorry about my mom," Katie said.

"It's fine, I have to be heading home soon."

Annabeth jogged home, soon nearing her house. That still had the ladder by it, but no Percy. Annabeth peered at the roof, trying to find him. She had completely forgotten about this little problem while hanging out with Katie.

Giving up on figuring out what Percy was going to do, she headed inside for dinner.

Dinner had been great. Compared to the Chase's normal choices: take out or cereal, this meal was a feast. The rest of her family now had full bellies and empty minds. But not Annabeth. She couldn't let Percy get away with whatever he was planning, and he was certainly planning something. The telltale loud noises were a giveaway. Glancing toward the living room, Annabeth finally connected the dots, completing a rather asinine picture of what Percy was going to try to pull off. Her eyes widened.

It actually was a pretty good plan, Annabeth considered as they settled in the living room. If you completely disregard your own personal safety, then yes, it was a good plan.

She stood up, and walked to the fireplace, where she would make her announcement. Honestly, she didn't even know why they had a fireplace. It was Florida, the coldest it got was 40 degrees. "Okay, family," she began, but couldn't be heard over the side conversations.

"Shut it!" she yelled. The conversations stilled, and then quieted. Annabeth started again. "Now that I have your attention, you all very well know that I have received the letter from Stanford University telling me if I have been accepted or not. I have three words to tell you in response to that." At that, Annabeth bent down and leaned her head near the fireplace. "Percy, get down!" she yelled.

A shocked scream echoed from the chimney, and suddenly a figure came crashing to the ground. "Oww…" it murmured. The reactions to this occurrence varied. Bobby and Matthew laughed, not sensing the seriousness of it. Helen had screamed, and Annabeth's dad had for once, not seemed so addled. He had run for his phone, to call the hospital. Annabeth knelt next to Percy, feeling washed in guilt.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "Wait, of course you're not okay, you just fell down a chimney!"

Percy laughed weakly. "I don't know how Santa does it."

"Why the hell did you think that what you did was a good idea?" She demanded it, frustrated and confused and terrified for him.

"I… I had to know your results."

The idiot. The sweet, noble idiot. Annabeth gave him a sad smile. "I got accepted," she told him quietly.

The huge smile on Percy's face completely made up for breaking down and telling him. It was the least she could do. She didn't know much about head injuries, but she was pretty sure it was bad if you passed out from one. She kept Percy conscious by rambling on about her day and little details. Eventually, an ambulance showed up, and Percy was sped to the hospital.

Annabeth spent the rest of 'her night` sitting in the hospital waiting room, worrying about her best friend. Her happiness when she heard that he would be alright rivaled her joy of getting accepted into Stanford. It was that night that she realized that Percy Jackson _was _different. She had never met someone who cared about her so much that they would go to such extremes. And Annabeth Chase kind of secretly loved that.

**Woo! This has been my longest chapter yet! I've realized that I absolutely love Percy and Annabeth as best friends, almost as much as I love them as a couple. I've also realized that almost half of this chapter didn't have Percy, but I liked that I had Annabeth interacting with other characters than Percy. Some stories never show her hanging out with friends, and I think that is a disservice to her character. It just- I'm cutting off my mini rant. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading, and please review!**


	4. The Kinda-Chapter

**Hello! This chapter isn't really a ****chapter**** chapter. It's more like a continuation of Chapter 3. It's just a short drabble about Percy's time in the hospital. I will call it a kinda-chapter for the story. That said, thank you Blackberry Explosion for reviewing this story! **

**Thank you nilesalt and potterblacklupin-4ever for favoriting this story! Thank you Blackberry Explosion, Husnaxoxo, nilesalt, thedamoracle, Fandomlyobsesses, Catnip-wisegirl, and Blue. Food. Only. for following this story! **

**If you're still reading this author's note, below the kinda-chapter will be information about a contest for this story. If you're interested, just read the A/N on the bottom.**

**I (sadly) don't own Percy Jackson.**

_Nicknames_

_At Hospital_

It had been six hours. Six hours since her best friend had fallen down her _chimney_ and hit his head. It had been six hours since he was sped to the hospital. And it meant six hours of waiting to see him.

Five hours before that, Sally, Percy's mother, had shown up in a panic. Sally had been admitted into the area of the hospital that he was in, no questions asked. That fact annoyed Annabeth to no end, not Sally getting to see him, but her not getting to. Sally definitely should be back there, but what about Percy's best friend, the one who had been just as worried as his mother, who was forced to just sit and wait?

That best friend at the moment was sitting there, washed in guilt. Annabeth felt at fault. It was for her that Percy had been in the chimney, since she wouldn't tell him if she got accepted into Stanford or not. It had been her who had figured out that Percy was in the chimney and didn't say anything. It had been her who, instead of telling her dad and Helen about Percy, shocked him so much that he fell.

Not only that, but hospitals were expensive. He and Sally were not exactly rolling in cash, and now they had to pay for a visit to the hospital. It was bad, especially with college right around the corner. She wasn't even sure if Percy wasgoing to college, he said he would be taking a gap year, but _still_.

Why did everything have to be so loud? It was nearly one in the morning, yet the hospital still buzzed with activity. The rest of her family had left a while ago, and had tried in vain to convince her to come along. But Annabeth had refused to move until she saw Percy, and Sally had promised to give her a ride home, leaving her to sit alone.

Sally had been so nice, even when she heard the story of how Annabeth was partially at fault for her only son's falling down a chimney. Jesus, she could bet that the hospital had never heard _that _explanation before.

So Annabeth sat there, stewing in guilt and worry. At exactly 6 hours, 19 minutes, and 22 seconds since Percy had been admitted into the hospital (she had been keeping track), Sally entered the waiting area and told Annabeth that she could go back and see Percy. Energy suddenly coursed through her. Her head shot up, and before she could fully process what she was doing, was sprinting to his room. The room that Annabeth had no clue how to find. Luckily, after running into a nice doctor-in-training named Apollo, she got a tour up to Percy's room.

Annabeth wrenched open the door, and stopped, staring at Percy. He was okay. He actually didn't look that bad, aside from an odd wrapping around his head. He grinned at her, then said," You seem awfully eager to see me, Annie."

Yep, Percy was back to normal. "You know I was," here she trailed off, searching for the perfect name. Looking at his head, she got one. "Seaweed Brain."

"Seaweed Brain?" he asked, sounding amused. "That one's new. Where could you have possibly gotten that from?"

She nodded towards his head. "Apollo told me that they used a calcium alginate wound dressing, which helps to absorb exudate, control bleeding and speed up healing. The thing is, in that calcium alginate is seaweed. Hence, the nickname. Did you know seaweed has been used for wound healing in many cultures, and called the mariner's cure? And…"

"You're rambling again," Percy cut her off. "So, are you calling my brain a cure?"

"No, if anything it's a disease."

"You can't be rude to me, I am hospitalized!" he announced.

Annabeth snorted. "You're hospitalized because you fell. Down. A. Chimney. It's not like you did anything heroic, like saving the world."

"Oh please, in another life, I would totally be the biggest hero the world has ever seen. If it's any consolation, you could be my sidekick."

"Come on, you know I'd being saving your butt the whole time." She really loved their banter.

"Uh huh, admit it, Wise Girl, I would be a better hero than you."

"Wise Girl? Where did you get that one from?"

"Because you're… smart," Percy looked triumphant at his reasoning.

"Smart? Wow, this logic is worse than usual. Are you sure you didn't hit your head too hard when you fell?" She felt his forehead exaggeratedly.

Percy merely smiled at her. "It must be all the medicine I'm on. If you want a better nickname, you can be Stormy."

"Seriously, Stormy? I have _got _to hear the reason behind this one, Perce."

"Cuz of your eyes. You know, when you concentrate, your eyes look all stormy." He noticed that? It was kind of sweet, in a non-stalkerish way.

"If I'm Stormy, then you would be Vegetables."

That got a laugh from him. "Stormy, just because my eyes are green, it doesn't mean it reminds you of vegetables. Plus, not all vegetables are green." Percy seemed satisfied in his logic.

Unluckily for him, Annabeth had already picked out a comeback for that argument. "So what? Are you some kind of vegetable elitist, only accepting green vegetables? Imagine all the discriminated against vegetables, because of people like you, who can't accept that eggplants will always be purple!"

"You got me, Wise Girl," he murmured sleepily. "I'm a vegetable discriminator."

It felt so good to know that Percy was fine, that he would be better. "Goodnight, Percy," she whispered.

As she was leaving, he asked," Wise Girl, why did you stay all night just for the chance to see me?"

Annabeth got a soft look in her eyes. "Because you're my friend, Seaweed Brain. Anymore stupid questions?" With that, she turned and left the room. She had things to do.

The next morning, Percy would wake to find a homemade get well card sitting by his head. It was addressed to Vegetables, showed two superheroes, and was signed by Stormy.

**That was a lot of fun to write! And I just couldn't resist putting in some of those references from Percy Jackson. (: **

**Now, on to the contest! As you can see from Chapters 1 through 3, most of this story is Percy spying (and ultimately failing at it) when Annabeth is around. I'm pretty sure that I cannot come up with all of the possible ways that he could do this, so for the next three days, please submit suggestions/ideas for one chapter of this story, if you want. One of these will be used in the story and that chapter will be dedicated to whoever submitted that idea. You can leave them in the reviews or PM me with them. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see a suggestion from you! (That sounded really advertisementy to me. Oh well, it's probably the best I can do) –LifeIsGame **


	5. Chapter 4

***cringes* I am SO sorry for not updating sooner. These past couple weeks have been completely packed, and just… ugh. **

**Thank you everyone who gave suggestions for the 'contest`. One Bright Light and nilesalt- your ideas were great. But only one suggestion worked perfectly for this story- and that one was Blackberry Explosions' suggestion. This chapter is her brilliant idea! **

**Thank you dukepinesnort, gopercyjacksonstuff, FuckTheAUTHORity and lavenderflowing31310 for favoriting this story! Thank you Naval Toast, gopercyjacksonstuff, daughterofposeidon, Justswim2013, BookNerdsAreAwesome and DaDaysFangirlingPercabethD for following this story! Thank you for reviewing this story One Bright Light, nilesalt, gopercyjacksonstuff, Zannabeth Chase and Guest!**

**There is going to be a video in this chapter. The happenings of this video will be in italics.**

**I am a girl in middle school + Rick Riordan is a grown man = I'm not Rick Riordan = I don't own Percy Jackson.**

_The Art of Espionage_

_Chapter Four: Go Out On a Limb (Or a Roof)_

_Mission: #4 Age: 19 Location: Annabeth's Stanford University Dorm_

Annabeth had come to the conclusion that she had not one creative bone in her body. She shifted in her bunk, wracking her brain. A dull thunk came from her bed, as she knocked her head on the floor. She made a note to herself: Do not toss around while hanging upside down. No matter how artsy it might look.

Quite frankly, Annabeth was stuck. Not an I can't-open-this-lid kind of stuck, it was a my-car-just-flipped-over-and-I-can't-get-out stuck. Why did she ever think taking creative writing as a minor was a _good _idea? Anything would be better than this. Even taking a gap year with Percy would be better than this. God, dating _Octavian _would have been better than the writing induced stupor she had fallen in.

Annabeth was distracted from her angst by her friend barging into her dorm. "Reyna, what could you possibly want? Didn't you receive my text alerting everyone to my writing troubles, the one that said I needed to be left alone to finish the project?"

Reyna opened her mouth to respond, but Annabeth continued. "Oh, unless you're here to fuel my creativity with hot chocolate? Because that would just be-"

"Nope, no food. And we're all too aware of your creativity issues." Annabeth turned to see Hylla enter the room, ruffling Reyna's un-ruinable hair, to which she retaliated with the ever mature sticking out your tongue tactic.

Annabeth grinned as Reyna quickly came to her defense. "To be fair, she_ was_ pretty creative when cussing out Octavian last week." Okay, so that defense was definitely not what she was hoping for.

"You're right on that one, little sis. Some of those cusses were scary. My favorite curse was the one where she told him, and I'm quoting this, 'I hope you are mauled by a three-headed dog, turned into a cockroach, then subsequently ran over, and have your Fury-like face sewn into Hades' underwear. And that was the only one without any actual cuss words."

Annabeth felt her face slowly turning red. Since it was obvious Reyna was too busy killing their ears with her laughter, Annabeth would have to defend herself. "He was a mythology major! He understood what I meant!"

Reyna asked, "How did you even know those kind of words? You grew up in Virginia and moved from Orlando. I'm pretty sure the worst word citizens use there is fuck. Fuck was probably the nicest term you used."

Hylla grinned. "Okay, now I really want to hear the explanation."

She shook her head vehemently. "I'm not telling you."

"You will."

"No."

"Yes."

"No." They were really doing this. Annabeth was _not _going to lose.

"YES."

"No!"

"Stop! Are you guys five? You're Stanford students, and yet you are resorting to the no-yes argument? I expected this from Reyna, but from you Annabeth? It's just disappointing." Hylla said this with a teasing grin. "Besides, I've done the same paper before. I'll only help if you tell us how you are fluent in the language of cuss."

Annabeth quickly weighed the options in her mind. On one hand, it would mean letting the sisters win. On the other hand, she really needed help on this paper. There just had to be a way she could do both…

"Okay," she announced.

"Okay?!" Hylla said in shock. "I didn't think that would work."

"_Okay_, but only if Rey-Rey admits that I got the last word."

Reyna made a strangled sort of noise, like a cow with diarrhea. (Don't ask how she knew that.) She quickly exchanged looks with Hylla, and the two sisters had one of those conversations just with their eyes. Annabeth found that impressive, and also kind of sweet that they could do that. You had to be seriously close to just know what another is thinking at any given time, and she knew Annabeth and Reyna were, despite the teasing and fights they had.

While she sat amused in the background, the sisters were currently having a stare-off, until Hylla broke and whispered something to Reyna. Reyna muttered, "That is so not fair." Sighing, Reyna straightened and groaned, "You had the last word." Annabeth smiled in triumph. "Now tell us how you knew all those words."

"Okay," she said. "You guys know Frank, right?"

"Yeah," Reyna replied. "Psychology major, panda bear-like, overall a nice guy. What does he have to do with anything?"

"Well, every Wednesday we head to his dorm-"

"That sounds so wrong," Hylla murmured.

"And we Skype my friends Percy and Nico, along with some other people I don't know, and we play Mythomagic. Some of the guys are really competitive, and get very angry when they lose. That's how I know those words."

"No way!" Hylla was laughing. "Annabeth Chase is a huge nerd!"

"_Speaking _of Percy, that's what we're here about," Reyna interrupted, shooting Hylla a look. "Now that Hylla over there is done acting four, we were sent to bring you to the security room. There's something Security wants to talk to you about."

Annabeth felt a mix of dread and curiosity build up. Reyna had mentioned Percy, so he must have done something. He was in Florida, so how could have done something so messed up Stanford University Security wanted to speak with her. She forced herself to seem relaxed, but doubted it got past Reyna. "Lead the way," she said.

…..

"Look, I know that you've been traumatized by this event… oh, Reyna! Do come in!" Jason spotted the girls and desperately took his chance to escape. The girls had entered the Security Room to see Jason, the Student SEP who was chosen to fill in for the sick Public Safety Officer, trying to appease a soaking wet and hysterical Octavian.

Unfortunately, Octavian had noticed them as well. When he saw Annabeth, his eyes widened. "You!" he howled. "Of course, _you _are his contact! I swear, this is a conspiracy! She's out to get me, ever since my parents bought my way- I mean convinced- the college to accept me! This is a travesty!"

Jason thankfully stopped his ranting. "I understand your concerns, but right now, you're hysterical. I'll have to ask you to calm down. Or else I'll have to call in backup." Annabeth felt so bad for Jason at this point. She had a feeling that when he accepted his position, he never expected anything like whatever this was to happen.

However, Octavian refused to accept reason. "Calm down?!" he shrieked. "No, you are the one who has to calm down! I swear!"

'Annabeth, help. Call the backup, ` Jason mouthed. Octavian's yelling turned to unintelligible screams as Jason tried to get him to shut up. She turned around to see that both Reyna and Hylla had escaped this train wreck.

Looking around, she saw a slip of paper next to the phone with contact information. She quickly dialed the number and was sent to an automated message. "Butch, this is the SR. Please come down, There is a hysterical student by the name of Octavian breaking down. Please come as soon as possible." She hung up.

Annabeth yelled to be heard over Octavian. "Jason, just call me over later!" She was a good friend, but not _that _good of a friend.

Jason nodded and tossed her his phone. "Just watch the first video. It is downloaded from the security footage. It will show why you're here!"

Annabeth gave a thumbs up, and jogged to the library. She had no clue where Reyna and Hylla had gone, but assumed they abandoned ship like she did. Pulling out a pair of earbuds, she pulled up the video and pressed play.

_The video was of the dorm roof, the one with the hot tub and pool. A figure was crawling near the edges of the roof. _Annabeth's heart sped up. She knew exactly who that figure was.

_A high feminine voice called out, "Just give me ten minutes! I'm getting in the hot tub!" The owner of that voice appeared in the doorway, only blonde curly hair visible. The figure smiled when glimpsing that person. _

_ "Perfect," he muttered, crawling to the hot tub and rising. When risen, the figure was shown to have black hair and green eyes. It was Percy. Percy dropped into the hot tub and lowered himself under the water, for once being quiet._

_ The owner of the voice headed to the tub, and turning around, revealed themselves. _Annabeth was horrified. It was Octavian. This was going to end badly.

_As Octavian lowered himself into the water, a hand shot out, and missing his foot, grabbed his butt. Octavian let out a high pitched scream. _Annabeth cringed. This was worse than anything she imagined on her walk to the room.

_Immediately, Percy shot out of the water, looking horrified. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I was trying to grab your foot, and…" He caught a look at Octavian. "Wait, you're not Annabeth!"_

_ While Percy was stumbling over apologies, Octavian was wildly blowing his rape whistle. The sound of feet were heard pounding up the stairs, and Jason appeared, just as the video cut out._

Annabeth groaned. This was going to be hard to explain. How could Percy even mistake Octavian for her? Sure, they both had feminine voices and curly blonde hair, but… Who was she kidding, of course Percy, rom his angle would have confused them. And she _did _say she loved the hot tub at her dorm roof.

Her thinking was interrupted by Jason plopping down next to her. "Hey."

"Hey. Look, Jason, Percy did not-"

"I know. I saw the video, and I've heard you talk about him. This might not make me the best SEP, since he did break into campus and then kind of sexually harass someone, but I'm letting Percy off. I just need your proof that he is really your friend and not a stalker and he can go." Jason was such a great friend. Annabeth was really going to owe him.

"Seriously? If that's all it takes, Percy is my friend and not a stalker."

Jason grinned. "Good, because that guy is hilarious. He's being held where Dakota is normally kept when he gets drunk on campus. I'll let him out."

"Can you actually give me the keys?" she asked sweetly.

Jason gave her an odd look. "Here. Don't yell at him too much, okay?"

Annabeth just smiled. Her anger was building with every step. She was cooking up a huge lecture. She opened the door to the room, and flung it open to see Percy.

Her heart warmed at the sight of him and his grin, but she quickly reminded herself that she had to stay serious. After all, Sally wasn't going to yell at him, so she had to take that place. Annabeth felt it to be one of her duties as a best friend. She started yelling and Percy shrank back.

Within ten minutes of her speech, she saw Jason and Reyna laughing at Percy, a tall, strong nineteen year old hide as a much smaller girl lectured him. She supposed it was comical.

As she neared the end of her lecture, she asked, "How did you even get here?"

Percy answered easily. "Hitchhiked. And I came because you were complaining about your essay and I knew I would be inspiration." He had sensed her next question. Percy then sheepishly added, "I also came because I missed you."

Annabeth smiled and let him out of the holding area. "I missed you too, Seaweed Brain," she mumbled as she hugged him.

Two weeks later, Annabeth got her aced essay back, titled The Spy Next Door. The night after Percy's arrest had given her the perfect topic, and she hadn't even needed Hylla's help. The whole idea started when she realized that Percy Jackson was spontaneous and unpredictable and wild. But she knew that, in contrast, he was a constant for her. She knew that he would always be there for her. After all, he did travel across the country just to help with a paper. She completely trusted him. And for Annabeth Chase, that was a first.

**Am I the only one who loves literally acting like five year olds Annabeth and Reyna? Because they are perfection. (: **

**Thanks for reading!**


End file.
